Method and means of controlling webs



I). 29, 1931. ER N 1,838,612

METHOD AND MEANS OF CONTROLLING WEBS Filed April 30, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 29, 1931. J. A. CAMERON METHOD AND MEANS OF CONTROLLING WEBS Filed April 50; 1931 .4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 29, 1931.

J. A. CAMERON METHOD AND MEANS OF CONTROLLiNG WEBS Filed April 50, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 W 351 A: 6mm,

Dec. 29, 1931. J CAMERON 1,838,612

METHOD AND MEANS OF CONTROLLING WEBS Filed April 30, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Qwuentoz ovum;

Patented Dec. 29, 1931 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE J A. CAMERON, OI BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CAMERON MACHINE CO]!!- PANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK METHOD AND menson CONTROLLING wens Application filed April 30,1931. Serial No. 533,916. I

This invention relates to a method or system of slitting flexible material or of .controlling such flexible material during the process of slitting, and said invention has forits main object and feature the production of web sections having a clean-cut edge.

In the accompanying drawings are shown, by way of illustrationrather than 'of limitation, several preferred forms of means for use in connection with the system or method. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a slitting and winding machine substantially on the plane of line 11 of Fig. 3, embodying one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail view substantially on the plane of line 22 of Fi 1 Fig.2) is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, broken away at the center;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of certain gearing looking in the direction of arrow 4 of Fig. 3

Fig. 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view, in vertical section, illustrating a modified form 2 of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional detail view substantially on the plane of line 66 of l ig. 7 is a somewhat diagrammatic view, in vertical section, illustrating a second modified form of the invention Fig. 8 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 7 but showing a still further modified form of the invention; and v Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional detail view substantially on the plane of line 99 of Figs. 7 and 8.

Slitting elements, to make a clean cut, must be rotated at a certain speed with relation to the speed of a moving web. What this relative speed shall be depends upon the character of the slitting elements. If the slitting elements are of the score-cut type it is now generally believed that,-in practically all cases and with practically all materials to be slitted, the surface speed of the backing roll should be as nearly as possible equal to the speed of the web. In the shear-cut type, on

the other hand, it is now generally believed that the overlapping shears should be rotated at a somewhat higher surface speed than the speed of movement of the 'web. Whatever theydesired relative speed of the web and slitting elements may be, and it will obviously vary in different cases, it will be clear that once a given speed relation is established it 1s desirable to substantially retain it during a certain run or series of runs It is-here that the diflicultv enters, as will appear from the following: the webof flexible material may be supplied from a paper making or other machine capable of producing a web of flexible material, or it may be supplied or unwound from a roll of material previously produced. In either event the material so supplied is subjected to a retarding influence which may be due either to the inertia of the roll from which it is being unwound or to the frictional resistance of idler or guide rolls over which the material passes before it is led to the slitting means, or toboth. Indeed, at times the retarding effectis heightened by the employment of brakes on the idler rolls, which bra es serve to increase the reluctance of the rolls to, turn in response to the movement of the web. The movement ofthe web is caused by a suitable take-up device, such as a' winding mechanism, which is in effect a pullingmachine to produce movement of the web. t will now be understood that the web is subjected, during slitting, to two opposing forces, one of retardation and the other of acceleration. It is, of course, attempted to so balance these forces that the web will move past the slitting point at a speed so coordinated with the surface speed of the slitters as to produce the most advantageous slitting (that is clean slitting devoid of ragged edges) of the material. For reasons too numerous to be set forth at length here, it is not always possible to retain this balancing of forces and this constancy of relative speeds, the result being that the web moves past the slitting point at a speed which is either greater or less than that required to obtain the desired effect. In consequence of this, the slitting elements are called upon to control the speed of the web either by feeding it forward in opposition to undue retardation or else by. holding it back in opposition to 100 undue acceleration. This is adverse to good slitting, because in either of the above-named circumstances the slitting elements tend to tear the fibres or to produce ragged edges instead of clean-cut edges. I have found that, by mterposmg stabilizing means to engage the web at a point other than the shtting point, but at a point intermediate the supply and pulling or winding point the difficulty above outlined may be largely if not entirely obviated. A

In the exemplification of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the slitting means are indicated by backing roller 1, having a glass-hard surface, and score-cutter 2 engaging therewith. In this case the backing roller is driven positively by gearing and the score-cutter is riven by frictional en gagement with the backing roller. Web 3 is here shown as coming from mill roll 4 and is led over suitable guide rollers 5, here mounted in ball bearings 6. After bein slitted, the web sections pass to a suitable ta e-up device or winding mechanism, the system here followed being that of winding the web sections on separate shafts 7 and 8. At some point, other than the slitting pointbut between the supply and take-up points, are interposed driven means to engage the web with greater controlling effect than that exercised at the slitting point to thereby control the speed of the web at the slitting point. In the resent instance, two stabilizing rollers 9 an 10 are so interposed and these rollers are here driven at the same surface speed as backing roller 1. It will be seen that the web in golng from guide rollers to the slitting elements passes over rollers 9 and 10, and 1t will be understood that if the web tends to be unduly retarded, said rollers 9 and will assist in feeding the web forward thus relieving the slit ting elements of the burden of making this attempt, and conversely, if the winding mechanism is pulling the web too fast, said rollers 9 and 10 will oppose the undue acceleration, the strain of doing this falling on said rollers 9 and 10 rather than on the slitting elements. In either event, rollers 9 and'lO will tend to move the web past the slitting point at the speed required for good slitting. Motion may be supplied to the various parts by any suitable means. In the exemplification here followed, power is applied to the machine throu h gear 11 on shaft 12 of backing roller 1. S aft 12 carries a gear 13 that meshes with gear 14 on the shaft of roller 10, which gear 14 in turn meshes with a gear 15 on the shaft of roller 9. Shaft 12 also carries a gear 16 that meshes with gears 17 and 18 loosely mounted on shafts 19 and 20 and imparting motion to the latter through slipfriction drives 21 and 22in a well understood manner. Shafts 19 and 20 also carry gears 23 and 24 that mesh with intermediates 25 and 26, and these latter, in turn, mesh with pinions 27 and 28 on shafts 7 and 8. In this way the speed of shafts 7 and 8 is demgs 30 and (ll1V6I1 by contact with backing roller 1 to direct the web sections to shaft 7 and 8 and to otherwise assist in controlling the web. It will thus be seen that rollers 9 and 10 perform a double function, in that, in case of undue retardation, they will assist the winding means to advance the web, and, in case of undue acceleration, will assist the retarding means to hold back the web. The controlling effect of rollers 9 and 10 combined with that of the winding means should therefore be greater than undue retarding effect of the supply means; and, conversely, the controlling effect of rollers 9 and 10 plus the retarding effect of the mill roll should be greater than such controlling effect of the winding means as would produce undue acceleration. Or, stating the invention-in terms of a method,it consists in supplying a web of flexible material under tension, advancing said web by winding it, establishing, notwithstanding excessive retarding influence of the web supply means and undue accelerating influence of the winding means, a speed-stabilized zone in the web intermediate said elements, and slitting the web at a definite speed with relationto the stabilized speed of the web as it passes through said zone.

In Figs. 5 and 6 is shown a modification involving the use of shear-cutters. The overlapping shear-cutters are here indicated at 31 and 32 and are here preferably both driven as by means of intermeshing gears 33 and 34. The speed relation ordinarily established in this case is that the shears shall rotate at a slightly higher speed than that of the advancing movement of the web. The web here comes from a mill roll 35 and is led over guide rollers 36 and thence over stabilizing rollers 37, through the slitters, and thence to guide roller 38 and friction roller 39, after which the slitted sections pass to winding shafts 40 and 41. It is unnecessary to again describe how shafts like 40 and 41 may be driven, suffioe it to say that guide roller 38 is driven, in this instance, at a speed slightly less than the shear-cut slitters, and carries a gear 42 from which motion is transmitted by pinions 43 and 44 to the shear-cut slitters, motion being transmitted from the latter to stabilizing rollers 37 by means of pinion 45 and intermeshing gears 46 and 47.

In Fig. 7theinvention is shown applied to a winding mechanism of the surface rewind type in which score-cut slitters are employed. Here the web is supplied by mill roll 48 and passes over guide rollers 49, stabilizing rollers 50, around backing roll 51, where it is acted upon by slitters 52, over tion here is that backing roller 51 and stabilizing rollers 50 move at the same surface speed.

In Fig. 8 is shown a modification of Fig. 7 in which shear-cut slitters are employed. The means for driving the winding drums .are the same as those described in connection with Fig. 7, and the only change here resides in the fact that roller 62 is a guide roller instead of a backing roller, and carries a gear 63 that drives shear-cut slitters 64 through pinions 65, and that pinion 66 drives gears 67 ofthe stabilizing rollers 68. The speed relation here is that the shear-cut slitters run at a somewhat greater surface speed than the stabilizing rollers, and that said stabilizing rollers 68 and roller 62 have equal surface speeds.

I claim:

1. A system of slitting flexible material including: means to supply a web of flexible material, winding mechanism to wind the web, slitting means for the web, intermediate the web supply means and the windin mechanism, rotating at such speed as to e fect advantageous slitting of the web when it flows at a definitely controlled speed at the slitting point, and one or more stabilizing bilizing \rolls intermediate the web supply means and the shear-cut slitters and rotating at a somewhat lesser surface speed than that of the shear-cut slitters, and a roll, over which the web is trained, located intermediate the shear-cut slitters and the winding mechanism and rotating at substantially the'same surface speed as that of the stabilizing roll or rolls.

4. The method of controlling a web of flexible material while slitting it which consists in: supplying a web of flexible material under tension, advancing said web by winding it, establishing, notwithstanding excessive retarding influence of the web supply means and undue accelerating influence of the winding means, a speed-stabilized zone in the web intermediate said elements, and slitting the web at a definite speed with relation to the stabilized speed of the web as it passes through said zone.

Signed at the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kin s, city and State of New York, this 28 day 0 April, 1931.

JAMES A. CAMERON.

rolls, also intermediate the web supply means and the winding mechanism, to engage the web with greater controlling effect on the speed of the web thanthat exercised by the slitting means at the point of slitting and driven at such speed as to oppose both excessive retardation of the web by the web supply means and undue acceleration of the web by the winding mechanism.

2. A system of slitting flexible material including: means to supply a web of flexible material, winding mechanism to wind the web, a rotatable backing roll, around which the web is trained, located intermediate the web supply means and the. winding mechanism, one or more score-cut slitters to engage the backing roll, and one or more stabihzmg rolls also intermediate the web supply means and the winding mechanism and rotating at substantially the same surface speed as that of the backing roll.

, 3. A system of slitting flexible material including: means to supply a web of flexible material, winding mechanism to wind the web, rotatable shear-cut slitters located intermediate the web supply means and the winding mechanism, one or more sta- 

